UFC 200
Las Vegas, Nevada |attendance = 18,202 |gate = 10.7 million |previous_event = The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia Finale |following_event = UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker |hidea = |sherdog = UFC-200-Cormier-vs-Jones-2-47285 }} UFC 200: Cormier vs. Silva is a mixed martial arts event held on July 9, 2016 at the T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. Background The event will be the first that the organization has hosted at T-Mobile Arena, which opened in April 2016. It will take place during the UFC's annual International Fight Week and mark the second time the UFC will host three events in consecutive days. A welterweight rematch between The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner and former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz and current UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor was originally expected to headline the event. The pairing previously met earlier in the year at UFC 196. McGregor was expected to challenge UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos, but dos Anjos pulled out due to a broken foot only 11 days before the event. Diaz eventually replaced him and the bout was shifted to the welterweight division. Diaz won the fight via rear-naked choke in the second round. Everything changed on April 19: in a sudden turn of events, after McGregor tweeting a supposed retirement, the UFC announced that he was pulled from the event and a replacement for him is being sought. UFC President Dana White clarified that McGregor's removal was related to his refusal to come to a press conference that week, because "he was in Iceland training and didn't want to ruin his preparation for the fight". McGregor released a statement two days later, claiming he is not retired and that he requested the UFC to allow him to focus more on the fight preparation this time, as he feels he lost his focus during the media obligations for the last fight. He gave an ultimatum, saying he's ready for the event and would come for a scheduled New York press conference, but if that's not enough, he "doesn't know what to say". A report later claimed that the UFC decided to cancel the fight indeed, in what was rumored to be a $10 million paycheck for McGregor. On April 27, the UFC officially announced the new headliner as a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship unification rematch between current champion Daniel Cormier and former champion Jon Jones, who is also the current interim champion. The pairing met previously at UFC 182 in January 2015 with Jones defending his title via unanimous decision. Subsequent to that victory, Jones was stripped of the title and suspended indefinitely from the UFC in connection with a hit-and-run incident that he was involved in. Cormier replaced him and went on to defeat Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 to win the vacant title. Their rematch was originally expected to take place at UFC 197, but Cormier pulled out three weeks before the event due to injury and was replaced by Ovince Saint Preux, in what became an interim title bout. Jones went on to defeat Saint Preux by unanimous decision and won the interim title. But Jones failed the drug test and he isn't allowed to fight in UFC 200, Anderson Silva will fight instead of him. On June 4, during the UFC 199 main card broadcast, it was announced that former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar will return to the UFC for his first fight since December 2011. He will face the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix winner and former interim title contender Mark Hunt. A UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Miesha Tate and top contender Amanda Nunes is also expected for this event. Due to McGregor's experiments outside of his division, an interim UFC Featherweight Championship bout between former champion José Aldo and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar is expected to take place at this event. This will also be a rematch, as Aldo defended his title against Edgar at UFC 156 in 2013 via unanimous decision. The card is also expected to feature a heavyweight bout between former two-time champion Cain Velasquez and Travis Browne, and a welterweight bout between former UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen winner Kelvin Gastelum. A middleweight bout between former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi and Derek Brunson was expected to take place at this event, but on June 19 it was announced that Brunson pulled out due to injury and was replaced by Thiago Santos. A lightweight bout between Joe Lauzon and The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner and former lightweight title challenger Diego Sanchez was originally booked for UFC 180. However, the bout was cancelled due to both fighters being injured. The fight was later rescheduled for this event. Also, another couple of lightweight bouts between former PRIDE Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi and Jim Miller, as well as Sage Northcutt and Enrique Marín are expected to take place at this event. Also on the card there will be a women's bantamweight bout between former title challenger Cat Zingano and The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate winner Julianna Peña, and a bantamweight rematch between former UFC Bantamweight Champion T.J. Dillashaw and Raphael Assunção. The pairing first met at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Shields in October 2013, when Assunção won a close bout via split decision. Results Main card *Women's Bantamweight bout: Amanda Nunes def. Miesha Tate © by Submission (rear-naked choke) in Round 1 (3:16) *Heavyweight bout: Brock Lesnar def. Mark Hunt by Decision (unanimous) (29-27, 29-27, 29-27) in Round 3 (5:00) *Light Heavyweight bout: Daniel Cormier © def. Anderson Silva by Decision (unanimous) (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) in Round 3 (5:00) *Featherweight bout: José Aldo def. Frankie Edgar by Decision (unanimous) (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) in Round 5 (5:00) *Heavyweight bout: Cain Velasquez def. Travis Browne by TKO (punches) in Round 1 (4:57) Preliminary card (Fox Sports 1) *Women's Bantamweight bout: Julianna Peña def. Cat Zingano by Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in Round 3 (5:00) *Catchweight bout (171.25 Ibs): Kevin Gastelum def. Johnny Hendricks by Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) in Round 3 (5:00) *Bantamweight bout: T.J. Dillashaw def. Raphael Assunção by Decision (unanimous) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in Round 3 (5:00) *Lightweight bout: Sage Northcutt def. Enrique Marín by Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) in Round 3 (5:00) Preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass) *Lightweight bout: Joe Lauzon def. Diego Sanchez by TKO (punches) in Round 1 (1:26) *Middleweight bout: Gegard Mousasi def. Thiago Santos by TKO (punches) in Round 1 (4:32) *Lightweight bout: Jim Miller def. Takanori Gomi by TKO (punches) in Round 1 (2:18) References Category:Ultimate Fighting Championship events Category:2016 in mixed martial arts Category:2016 in Nevada Category:Mixed martial arts in the Las Vegas Valley